Rachel Barclay, Development Associate

Rachel Barclay '11

Her Initial Attraction to Luther

“I chose Luther because being on campus made me excited to learn, and I knew that there were great study abroad opportunities,” she says. “I knew a few Luther alumni before I was a student myself and their excitement for the college was infectious. I wanted to be a part of it.”

Studying Abroad Experience Provides Research for Senior Project

“My study away experiences in Washington, D.C., and Western Europe (Germany, in particular) had the greatest impact on me,” she says, “I knew I wanted to major in history, and much of the work in my major focused on sixteenth-century Europe. So, participating in a J-Term to study the Reformation in the Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands and spending a semester in Münster, Germany, gave me the chance to do some original research for what would become my senior project.”

Post-Graduation Filled with Work Experience and Education

Rachel spent the summer after graduation at Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah and the rest of the year at the Smithsonian Institution in D.C. “From there, I moved to Germany on a Fulbright scholarship to study art history in Munich,” she says. “After a year in Germany, I returned to Washington and started working in fundraising at Georgetown University, where I will start graduate school in art and museum studies this fall.”

Co-curriculars

I had work study at Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum the entire time I was on campus, and I also tutored German in the Language Learning Center. Working at Vesterheim was an incredible opportunity to get experience with many different aspects of museum work, and I stayed on for the summer after graduating to help coordinate an annual exhibit for Nordic Fest.

—Rachel Barclay '11

My advisors in the history department challenged the way I read, think, and write about history, and pushed me to pursue opportunities (including Fulbright) that I didn't think were possible.